On Wednesday 24 June, the European Parliament Committee on Budgets gave the go-ahead to additional aid from the 2020 EU budget to support refugees and host communities in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey in response to the Syrian crisis.
Consequently, the Committee on Budgets adopted the report prepared by Monika Hohlmeier (EPP, Germany) (by 33 votes for to 4 against, with 3 abstentions), recommending approval of Draft Amending Budget No 5 for 2020, which makes provision for: - €100 million in commitment and payment appropriations as resilience support for refugees and host communities in Jordan and Lebanon; - €485 million in commitment appropriations; - and €68 million in payment appropriations to ensure the continuation of urgent humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey.
All redeployment possibilities under heading 4, ‘Global Europe’ have been exhausted. The Commission therefore proposes mobilising the ‘contingency margin’, the special instrument of last resort, to provide €481.6 million, by offsetting the cost against the margins available in 2020 under heading 5, ‘Administration’, (€16.2 million) and heading 2, ‘Natural resources’, (€465.3 million).
Holmeier's report on the amending budget still has to be approved by the full Parliament in plenary session. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)